CWC 2025: Mazumdar hails India’s spirited bowling effort despite loss to Australia

Australia’s record-breaking run chase against India in Visakhapatnam on Sunday produced one of the most memorable contests of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. After Alyssa Healy’s dazzling century powered the defending champions to victory, India head coach Amol Mazumdar lauded the fighting spirit of his young side, especially rising stars Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani.

Not all losses are created equal, and given Australia had to shatter records to chase down India’s imposing total of 331, Mazumdar was quick to acknowledge the high-quality cricket on display. “I think they have been exceptional,” Mazumdar told media post-game, referring to his young bowlers.

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“If you see Kranti Gaud bowling and today Sree Charani against Australia, against top quality players, she ended up giving what, 40 odd runs in her 10 overs and picked up those important wickets. I think they have been exceptional, both of them,” he said.

Charani, the 21-year-old left-arm spinner, impressed with figures of 3/41 in her 10 overs, while Gaud has been one of India’s most consistent performers in the tournament so far. “Young, vibrant in the dressing room as well as vibrant on the field,” Mazumdar continued. “Unfortunately, we lost this one. But I think to answer your question, Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani … they have been phenomenal.”

Mazumdar also reserved words of praise for Australia, acknowledging the experience and composure shown by the seven-time world champions.

“Credit to (Australia). I think they batted exceptionally well. The way they started and eventually ended up getting 330 with one over to spare was a phenomenal effort, I felt. Yes, we tried to build pressure on them, but they’ve (got) experienced players. They’ve been playing together for a while. I think almost 10 years they’ve been playing with almost the same team. So, credit to them. They batted magnificently, I think,” he said.

India will now look at tactical refinements to bounce back from consecutive defeats, including the possible inclusion of an all-rounder and improving their ability to finish innings strongly.

“After this game we’ll have a look at it and I’m sure the team management will have a proper discussion about (potentially promoting an all-rounder) and then we’ll take a right call as we approach the next game,” Mazumdar said.

“The finish in a cricket game is very important. Yes, we need a good start, but we need a better finish. So, if you see the finish that we had in the South Africa game, as far as bowling is concerned in the last five overs we ended up losing that game, and even today, basically, if we would have got another 20 runs maybe things would have been different. But at the same time, it’s been a gradual progress for us and there are a lot of learnings. I keep talking about positives and learnings. One of the things to learn is to finish well,” he added.

After suffering their second consecutive loss in the tournament, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led outfit will be eager to get the momentum back in their next group-stage fixture against England on Sunday.